This explains it then, these masked knights, they are all Inquisitor Knights of the Church of the Holy Light, the reason why Devonrayla has cooperated with the Inquisitors. One needs a large amount of supplies to maintain contact with Dreya. The other, I’m afraid, is for a cause.

The Inquisitors need a just war, and assisting Dreya against the invasion of Liveser would be just.

I must leave quickly and check on the others.

"It seems we come back empty-handed again, Mister Messenger," the Inquisitor legion commander shrugged helplessly, corroborating Ralph’s deductions.

The Devonrayla messenger also showed a look of regret like that of the legion commander.

"Sir, if there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave," he said.

"Wait."

The Inquisitor legion commander’s words caused Ralph’s heart to leap again.

"Mister Messenger, I have thought of a little test, I hope you will cooperate," the legion commander raised his hand, a ball of holy light gathering in his palm.

"The servants of Holy Light have their own unique way of distinguishing friends from foes; I hope you won’t mind."

"This spell will not cause you any harm, provided," the Judgment Chief’s face broke into a brilliant smile, "you are not some kind of repulsive creature of darkness."

"The name of this Divine Art is ’Detect Evil’."

Ralph clenched his teeth in secret.

A werewolf is certainly not a friend of the Holy Light.

"Commander, can I take this as an insult to the Devonrayla family?" the Messenger expressed anger like that of a noble, "If the Holy Light treats its allies this way, I believe your Holy Light will weep."

The Inquisitor legion commander’s smile grew even more indulgent.

"No, the Holy Light will not weep."

"Because the Holy Light is just a force."

Meanwhile, Grael and the others waited anxiously, their expressions growing more troubled as time passed. Zither Bird had been gone for an unusually long time.

Finally, a plaintive chirp came from the bird whistle.

The entire Night Owl Squad, including Echel, was shocked.

The call of the Cuckoo Bird. The cuckoo cries blood.

"Run! Escape now!"

The moment Grael and the others moved according to the instructions, the dilapidated cellar burst open, and three masked knights emerged from the center of the explosion, their Holy Light turning into blades in their hands.

"We judge your sins!"

The Holy Light lingering on the Inquisitor Knights instantly dimmed, turning into a bog of shadows like mud.

"Shadow Duplicate, Shadow Beasts."

From the shadows of the black knights, beasts made of darkness cried out in despair, lunging at the fast-retreating rangers.

The knights clad in heavy armor followed closely behind.

"Shadow Duplicate, Grace of the Breeze."

A painful storm wrapped around the feet of the Inquisitor Knights, making them as light as birds, even faster than the rangers by a fraction.

The ensuing chaos immediately wakened the entire armed forces of Dreya. The Dreya Knights demonstrated their power, and hordes of steel torrents began to chase the instigators of the disturbance, both the Night Owl Squad and the Inquisitor Knights.

Compared to the Inquisitor legion with average fifth-tier combat capabilities, the Night Owl Squad—barely reaching the fourth tier—faced more interference, even as the Dreya Knights, due to different levels of threat, automatically targeted the Inquisitor Knights as the primary focus. Like human war machines, the Inquisitors still displayed their superior strength.

The distance was closing in relentlessly. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Yet the Night Owl Squad did not abandon hope, believing in their teammates and even more in their king.

The Falcon’s Eye, the Heart of the Sky, and his unparalleled archery.

At the moment the cry rang out, Echel had already reached the tallest building nearby. That huge Silver Falcon Bow was drawn taut, shining brightly in the sky, like a dazzling star.

Breathing, holding breath. The air flow entwined with Echel’s bowstring, the cold wind from the deep forest protecting the King of Rangers.

"Arrow, follow my will."

"Falling Silver Star."

Echel fired a streak of light that, from the eastern part of Dreya, streaked like a cruise missile and exploded behind Grael, blocking Inquisitor’s slashing attack and incidentally blasting the Inquisitor away.

The Inquisitor climbed up from the ground, unconcerned about the fractures in his body as shadows emerged and seeped through, filling the cracks. The Inquisitor raised his hands, one in front of the other, mimicking the motion of drawing a bow, aiming at an unseen distance.

"Shadow Copy, Falling Silver Star."

The same streak of light shot from the Inquisitor’s hands towards Echel. But then it veered off, exploding on the city walls twenty meters away. "Tch, a power that requires skill to assist." Without attempting another shot, the Inquisitor resumed the chase.

From the highest point, Echel laughed maniacally. "Even a ten-year-old from Liveser could shoot better than you." Without anyone to hold him back, Echel switched directly into turret mode.

The people of Dreya saw it—a meteor shower descending upon their city, along with continuous explosions like firecrackers.

Ultimately, the Inquisitor lost track. "Go back, there’s still a prisoner," the Inquisitor said as he slipped into the shadows and disappeared.

Echel also chose to retreat, his mission to assist his companions completed; now he needed to withdraw before Dreya Knights found him.

It was only when Echel regrouped with Reed and the others that he realized something was amiss.

"Where did Lyle go?"

Lyle had taken action the first time the Inquisitor used his power. Despite the different circumstances, that terrifying suppressive force and majestic power were unmistakably similar to the Guardian Legion they had encountered before.

"The power of the Holy Light!" Damn it, this is a Holy Light Legion!

Nia, hiding in her own shadow, hurried through the darkness with Lyle.

"Ralph is in danger!"

The wind was slicing her face, and the cold air she breathed in felt as if it was cutting her heart.

"This is no mere danger; now, we are enemies of the Holy Light!" The terrifying oppression weighed heavily on Lyle’s heart. As a junior appreciated by Mr. Raymond, Lyle was not at all prepared to oppose the Holy Light. "But I must do it, Ralph needs my rescue!"

Lyle’s eyes turned ice-cold as he hid in the shadows of the walls, gazing at the Church of the Holy Light nearby. The basement was right before him, and Inquisitor Knights, having heard the commotion, had already shed their disguises and surrounded the entrance. Nightingale and others were close by, they may not have been exposed, but they were certainly not a match for the Holy Light.

I can only rely on myself, only on the Plague.

Lyle’s palm began to condense the scent of death and decay, growing more corrupt and dangerous by the moment.

"Not enough, I need more. For Ralph, I must use all my strength, even if it means creating a city of the dead." Ralph’s peril twisted Lyle’s face into a grimace, both grotesque and mad.

Plague Messenger.

Lyle swung his arm downward, and the city was about to suffer.

Not far away, in the basement, the Divine Arts of the Judgment Chief were also being cast, his arm moving in sync with the descent.

Detect Evil.

The radiance of the Holy Light descended, but Lyle’s arm was firmly grasped.

Lyle felt his heart had stopped beating, he numbly turned his head, staring at the person stopping him with eyes filled with despair and tears.

The man stood erect, in stark contrast to the disheveled Lyle, a gentleman in posture. He dried the tears at the corner of Lyle’s eyes with a handkerchief.

"Why are you in such a state?"

"I... I thought you were in danger, Uncle Ralph."

Standing behind Lyle, sharing his lookout position, was Ralph, who was supposed to be trapped in the basement but had disguised himself as a messenger.

Ralph frowned slightly, patting his nephew’s head. "You can always trust me, and my abilities."

"But Uncle, how did you escape?"

In their line of sight, the messenger came out unharmed, standing beside Ralph like a normal person, the only difference being that his eyes were tightly closed.

"I never went in at all."

"What disguise could be truer than reality itself?"

"I simply took control of a sleepwalker."

"I am a Dreamwalker; it’s quite simple."